Routines!

[Greg44]

Do routines give you comfort or do they confine you?

I have been thinking about this for sometime. I have certain routines that seem to be so engrained in me that when I break them - they cause extreme frustration. And when I think about it - it sounds so stupid!

I have split days off Sun/Tues. So on Tues a.m. when I make my list (yep I am a list person) of what needs to be done - it is the same each week. If anything "unscheduled" interrupts me -- I really get stressed out. The routine is good as I get A LOT done, the routine is bad -- as I feel like a failure if at the end of the day my list is not all "X" out. At the end of the day I will lay in bed a mentally go over each thing I have accomplished...

[KayLR]

I yearn--desire---crave--long for---routine. I'm a list-maker, too, Greg. And I do get annoyed if something disrupts my plan (it's usually my husband). I don't see anything wrong with that, but your last remark scares me a little. I don't feel like a failure if I don't finish everything. Be nice to yourself; maybe your expectations are too high?

I'm constantly struggling to establish a routine whereby I set aside a quiet uninterrupted time to myself for reflection, reading, journaling. So far.....nope.

[Greg44]

Well maybe "failure" was the wrong word -- more like frustration. Partly because I know that I won't get to those remaining "to-do" until the next week....

[Hattie]

I am such a routine person! Probably obsessively so. If anything upsets my "routine" it can really throw me off for the rest of the day. I yearn to be more spontaneous at times but I don't see that happening. I am also a list person and I think that goes hand-in-hand with being a "routine" person. I think because I like to be so ridiculously organized that forces me to push my days into routines. Being organized definitely has its perks, but it can also be an anchor around your neck sometimes.

Right now I am getting ready for family to visit for a week in April. I have already made my lists of baking to do and today started the first of the baking for the freezer. I envy people who can just have company over without fussing, but I know if I ever tried to do that, I would probably have a nervous breakdown worrying. *S*

Routines are good, but only if you can keep them from getting out of control. *S*

[goldensmom]

I am a routine and task oriented person. Routines neither comfort nor confine me but gives me a structured lifestyle. I think it depends on what one needs to accomplish. Spontaneity is fine but to accomplish what I need to get done with the many hats I wear I need routine. My routines are so ingrained I never think about it. At the end of the day, when I go to bed I just sleep.

[razz]

In my earlier life it I did not have a routine, things simply did not get done that were essential to do.

Nowadays, I am less structured but still follow a routine. Towels get washed on Tuesdays, dark and light personal wash on Wednesdays usually but i had a meeting today so only the dark got done, linen get done on Saturdays. the reason for the spacing is that we dry our laundry on racks near the wood stove.

Each morning, DH or I start the fireplace fire going in the living room and make the morning tea. We visit and decide what we are doing that day, I do my meditation and then we have breakfast. If I have to rush for an appointment or such, it is not as enjoyable.

If I don't make a list of things to do do or buy, I usually am aggravated at the lost opportunity or the important missed items so make lists faithfully to preserve gas and organize my day's travel.

To me, lists and routine make common sense.

[Rosemary]

Routines for me are best for the things I would be likely to skip otherwise... like exercise.

[Mrs-M]

"Routines" has a dual meaning to it (in my world). :) For example, when I was floors I have to swish the cloth over the floors in a certain manner (movement) otherwise I see it as being a complete waste of time as far as efficient floor cleaning goes. In this case "routine" expresses or exemplifies methodology. Another example of "routines" in my world, washing floors before vacuuming. In this case "routine" expresses calculated organization.

Routines? Oh yes, I need it.

[Gardenarian]

I generally like things to be predictable and run on a schedule, but lately I have been feeling like I am in a rut, in the doldrums, burned out - something's not working. So I'm changing a lot of my routines (house cleaning, homeschooling, gardening, exercise) to see if it wakes me up a bit. :treadmill:

I find I have to make to-do lists for me and dd every day, but that gives me a chance to think about what I am doing and if it really the best way to be spending my time. Is it necessary? Is it fun? Can I put it off?

It doesn't seem to be having the effect I was hoping for yet. but maybe it is just winter getting to me. :(

[frugal-one]

I, too, am a list maker. If I don't get all done in one day I just put it on the next day's list. I do not fret about it. I find that if I do not write down the things I need to do, invariably I forget something. I find I am more productive too. It is a nice feeling of accomplishment to cross that item off the list!

[Tammy]

could be, Greg, you just need a little more time off from work. sometimes I take a day off just for fun, don't plan anything extra, and I love how those extra 24 hours seem so long and open ... I do all kinds of things that are not urgent, but are important to me.

[mira]

I dislike most forms of long-standing routine. I find it tedious. Working falls under this category. No matter how much I love my job, I don't want to be doing it EVERY DAY between 9 and 5... I need to shake it up a little or else I get bored and frustrated. Why do I have to be trapped in the same place for the majority of every day?

However, I do like to have a vague plan when it comes to weekends, evenings, outings, errands, to-do etc (my partner says he's surprised I don't make "lists of lists to make" :)). If I don't, I get all snippy and disconcerted. Plus, if there's no enforceable plan, my partner would get up at 1pm every Saturday and we'd spend the whole day sitting in front of the TV (his favourite activity)... so part of it is trying to warn/motivate my partner, I think!

[Greg44]

could be, Greg, you just need a little more time off from work AMEN ! Having split days off really sucks!